apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Now for something completely different. We saw this Mini Robo Vacuum at Fred Flare and couldn't resist. This little droid is a mini-vacuum for your tabletop and kitchen counters, zooming around to pick up flour, breadcrumbs, and other little spills.

Do you remember the Nature Matching System? This was a public art project by artist Tattfoo Tan, who created a Pantone-like spread from images of real fruits and vegetables to remind you to consume your daily recommended doses of color (and fresh produce too). He put this Nature Matching System on placemats (which he gave away for free) and on an art installation in DUMBO.

Well, now he wants to put it on your computer screen. You can now download a free NMS screensaver. Click through for an up-close screenshot.

When convection ovens were first introduced to the home market, they were heralded as the ultimate time saver: "Perfect roast chicken in a third of the time!" But is convection technology really a shortcut to faster food, all the time?

We are on the record as loving our electric kettle. It boils water in a fraction of the time needed to heat water on the stove or in the microwave, and it's earned precious countertop space because we use it at least three times a day. We're curious about your kitchen tech setup and whether an electric kettle has earned a spot there too. More about electric kettles and our favorite model, after the jump.

Too bad we didn't see this during The Kitchn's Best Pie Bakeoff; it would have been a hands-down winner. It's an Apple apple pie!

Have you ever wondered how to follow a particular instruction in a recipe? Have you ever wondered what exactly the recipe wants your mince or dice to look like, or what size it should be? Enter the miBook, which promises to take your cookbook out of the pages and into living color.

We have an odd fascination with as-seen-on-TV gadgets, and this time of year the NuWave and its promises of fast turkey roasting are everywhere. What's the NuWave oven, and can it really cook a turkey in two hours?

The MILK desk has been around for a little while, but we've only recently found price details on this impossibly sleek shrine for your Mac. For more details and photos of this ultimate cord-hiding computer desk, read on...

We hate the grungy dust and grit that builds up inside our beautiful white mouse. It gets kind of gross on top, too. So here's our weekly dust reminder, and we're focusing on the mouse...

So, we are a bit behind the curve, apparently, because we just discovered that iTunes is offering a $0.99 movie rental every week. It's featured at the top of the iTunes store, and there's also a website that will show you current and past 99-cent rentals...

Wires, cables, gleaming metal and blinking lights - these are the trappings of the modern office. As much as we love our brushed steel iMac, however, the cold lights and white cords can feel cold and sterile.

One of the ways we hope to always keep our office a little warmer is through a natural wood desk. Here are a few of our favorite wood desks from past house tours on our sister home sites.

So, the iTunes movie rental has been up for a little while now, and there are several hundred movies available for rent.

We're curious - have rented from iTunes yet? If not, why? If so, what was your experience? A couple of our impressions (and one thing that made us very cranky) below.